


Honeysuckle

by futuremaker



Category: LazyTown
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternative Universe - Magic, Elf Sportacus (LazyTown), Eventual Robbie Rotten/Sportacus, Fae Robbie Rotten, Gen, Graphic Description of Injury, I finally added the other pairing tag because I'm trash and I can't hold it in anymore, M/M, Tiny Robbie Rotten, Tiny Sportacus, elves ride on hummingbirds, seriously what more does a story need
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-12-26 04:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12051003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futuremaker/pseuds/futuremaker
Summary: The world of Robbie the sugar fairy is turned upside down when trolls and elves decide to wage war on his meadow. Joined by an elven prince and aided by a rag-tag group of allies he must go on a quest to try and avert the mindless destruction of the only place he had ever been able to call home.





	1. Lavender

**Author's Note:**

> My contributions to fandoms generally consist of adventure stories in strangely magical AU's and spankings and, true to form, this is also gonna be one of those things.  
> I have been reading here for a couple weeks and I am hooked! You are all precious and I'm happy to be able to give back a little.

There were few things in the world a sugar fairy liked more than its namesake, but peace and quiet certainly ranked high up on that list.

Following that train of thought, it wasn't hard to fathom how a great big clamour of hundreds, nay, thousands! of voices could potentially rouse a slumbering sugar fairy from their fitful sleep.

Robbie sat up from the flower petal he had chosen as a make-shift bed and rubbed his sleep-crusted eyes with two balled fists. The purple and midnight blue of his wings seemed to pulsate dimly as he stretched his protesting limbs and bathed the honeysuckle he had been sleeping on in a pale glow of magic.

A shift in position made the petal fold over enough to send Robbie tumbling to the ground, his butterfly wings extending to slow his fall. With a few quick thrusts of his wings, they propelled him up towards the upper edge of the grass and nothing good had ever come of flying too high, now, hadn't it?

Grabbing onto an errant blade of grass, Robbie stopped his ascent rather abruptly and swung himself over to a freshly unrolling stem of fern.

Panting from the exertion, he took a minute to catch his breath, listening for the infuriating gaggle of shouts and grunts that drew ever nearer to his hiding spot.

Robbie clung tighter to the fern, hiding under a partially unrolled leaf stem, as the intruders flew on by overhead.

There was only one, though, riding a hummingbird, because of course he was, and Robbie's face fell immediately.

_Elves._

But that wasn't the worst of it, Robbie realised with a sharp intake of breath. While he had been preoccupied with scanning the air for more elves whirring past on their way too energetic little mounts, the earth had taken to shaking.

Robbie's eyes grew wide when he looked to the ground and reflexively brought up his wings to cover his body. They quickly became green and yellow and brown, blending him into his surroundings, and he dared to peek out from behind his velvety shield.

The first thing he noticed was that they were big and burly and that they were many. Riding on rats and weasels, they seemed to be… in pursuit of that elf? _Trolls_ , he realised, starting to shake a little at just how many they were. Still a far cry from the thousands his sleep-addled mind had conjured up, but there must have been close to a dozen, armed to the teeth with slingshots and spears, nets and shields, their fearsome faces curled up into snarls.

They were gone from his line of vision as fast as they had appeared, and Robbie had almost let go of the glamour hiding him from view when he felt a presence coming nearer. It stopped at the edge of the little clearing where Robbie had seen the trolls ride by and gripping the fern even tighter and crouching behind his wings was all he could do to stop the squawk bubbling up in his throat.

There stood a hare, a great big beast of a thing with one lumpy scar where his right eye should have been and plates of leather and bark covering the grey fur. But this battle-hardened beast wasn't what had the little sugar fairy all shakily gasping for breath.

Astride the hare's broad back sat a troll, bigger than his comrades, a scowl marring his rough features that looked haphazardly hewn from the base of a fearsome mountain.

With the grey of the hare's fur and the rough, primal shape of the troll, Robbie felt like he was staring at a boulder come to life, fit to destroy everything that stood in its path.

Robbie was glad for the protection his wings lent, for looking through the translucent texture of them gave him the illusion of the troll being more of a figure that had come out of a dream, or rather a nightmare, than a real living breathing thing that had chosen the exact same moment to exist in time and space as Robbie himself.

Every thought in his little head stopped abruptly when he noticed that the way too aware eyes of the troll had started to look around. Could he sense the magic in Robbie's glamour? Could trolls _do_ that? Robbie's memory somersaulted over itself trying to remember whether that was a thing that trolls did or not, when another troll, riding a mink, came back to the small clearing where the big troll had stopped.

"Farbauti!", the smaller troll exclaimed with a deep voice, bowing his head low. "Mór hit the elf with a stone the size of his damned _head_ but he kept on flying and we saw that bird of his vanish into the woods."

Farbauti, obviously their leader, stopped his survey of the area and a bone-chillingly deep rumble resonated through the broad chest in what must have been the troll equivalent of a sigh.

"So the prince has escaped, then," Farbauti grumbled with a voice like stone and iron. "It is no matter, he could not get what he was after and he must be wounded, at least. We shall return to our troops and regroup, there is much to be done. Raids and war require planning and foresight."

He sneered.

"Both qualities these impulsive elves happen to lack."

With a laugh like thunder and with lighting playing in his eyes, Farbauti turned around after looking around one last time and went back from whence he came, presumably to prepare that war business of his.

Robbie frowned after Farbauti and his soldier and he let several moments pass before he dared so much as breathe again.

This was trouble. This was more than trouble! This was the most trouble he had ever encountered in his _life_!

He had known there was an elven court somewhere in the woods adjoining his little meadow of delight and restfulness™, of course, but so far, their paths hadn't properly crossed. Apart from witnessing the odd elven patrol fluttering overhead on their ridiculous birds here and there but always managing to duck out of sight just in time, Robbie had managed to keep up his life of sweet anonymity and even sweeter solitude.

And the trolls? There had been talk of them, when he had found himself conversing with the meadows other inhabitants, of more activity from the caves and hills far to the south where they dwelled.

But nothing could have prepared Robbie for _this_!

Talks of war and fighting, seeing the weapons gleam in the harsh sunlight of an up until now perfectly cozy summer afternoon, that awful feeling in the pit of his stomach when he felt the huge troll's magic reaching for his?

That was too much for one day and Robbie vowed to wash it all down with a hearty helping of nectar and honey. 

He let the glamour camouflaging his wings fall away and climbed down from the fern branch by branch. He had had enough flying action for one day and didn't trust his topsy-turvy thoughts to steer him homeward when he had to concentrate on too many things at once.

So lost in thoughts was he, in fact, that it took him a moment to notice the faint shimmer of… _something_ underneath a little bushel of lavender on his way. It just so happened that this was one of his favourite little bushels of plant life on this meadow, it being his favourite colour and all, so the difference in texture and feeling led him to doubling back once he had already passed the herb.

He knew he should be on his way home, the trolls could still be around here somewhere, but… this was still his meadow. His territory, no matter how many other magical beings had chanced to pass through it in one day.

Gingerly, he snuck closer to where lavender met with earth and held his breath when he reached out a hand to touch the flickering… something that was obscuring his view.

He recoiled when his fingers met with foreign magic and suddenly there was the smallest burst of an electric blue current, making his hair stand on end. His heart had started pounding uncontrollably, but the foreign magic hadn't been vicious, merely optical in nature and he let some of his own magic flow into it, coaxing the blue static with little licks of purple flames.

The glamour fell without much resistance.

What it revealed, however, should have probably been left alone by the solitary sugar fairy.

"You…", Robbie breathed out through clenched teeth when he beheld pointy ears and ornate armour. "You're the one they were looking for!"

There was only a slight groan in response from the elfling lying at the root of the lavender bushel. He was bleeding from a nasty cut on his head, red dripping slowly down his face and onto the dusty earth, pooling in a shallow puddle.

"You can't stay here," Robbie said, his tone cautiously stern.

"You're not a troll," the elfling breathed and cracked open an all too impossibly blue eye, a stark contrast to the bloody red surrounding it.

"Well, duh!" Robbie cast his gaze about, watching out for any wayward trolls as if the mere word could conjure them up on the spot. "You can't stay here, elf, this is not your place. You need to leave."

The elf, with all his bloodied face and cracking voice had the audacity to snort a little.

"Believe me, I would love to," he said, trying and failing to get up.

The movement made more blood come out of the gash on the side of his head and Robbie felt something akin to… pity?

"Look here, elf, I am a very busy fairy and you have already cost me more than enough time and effort aaand of course he's unconscious," Robbie finished lamely, his gesticulating hands falling to his sides.

The glamour had started to flicker up again, feebly trying to hide its master but all it managed to do was making the elf appear slightly blurry.

"No, I am definitely not helping this… this elfling!" Robbie shook his head, resuming his march home, his wings flicking anxiously behind him. "I don't even know that guy and the trolls are looking for him and his own people are probably also looking for him and I have way too many naps and feasts planned for the day to entertain the notion of even considering helping some… some… poor, hurt, bleeding little thing that is far from home behind enemy lines…"

His voice trailed off and his brisk walk petered out not ten feet from where the elfling lay.

"You are a big softie, Robbie Rotten," he admonished himself, cradling his face in his hands, before looking back at the bleeding elf through his fingers. "And one day, it's gonna be the end of you."


	2. Elderberry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were comments on the last chapter. Several of them! And all of the kudos! I am made of emotion at this point, thank you so much :)  
> I hope you have as much fun reading this as I have writing it.

If there was one thing a fairy needed to know about elves, it was that when they did something, they did it with everything they had. So when the elfling woke up, he woke up _hard_.

With one hand gripping the edge of the piece of bark serving as his sickbed, he catapulted himself out of the freshly-washed sheets, landing on two wobbly feet and taking a staggering step forwards before collapsing onto one knee, one hand flying up to his bandaged head.

Robbie rolled his eyes in frustration and set the little acorn shell cup he had been holding down on a mushroom table.

"This is quite enough of that, thank you," he drawled out, utterly unimpressed, and drew the groaning elf up from his crouching position, unceremoniously dumping him back on the bark. "You are injured, act the part."

"It's you, from the lavender," the elf said with that peculiar little accent of his. "You are helping me?"

"Very observant of you," Robbie noted, letting sarcasm drip from his voice like honey. "Please don't make this any harder than it already is."

The elf nodded, apparently regretting the motion when his hands flew up to his head again.

Robbie waited for him to ride out the wave of dizziness he must be feeling and sat down on one of his walnut shell chairs. When the nausea seemed to have passed, the elf's eyes went flickering about, resting on Robbie for a while before wandering over his meager furnishings.

"What is this place?"

_Rude_.

"That," Robbie said, tone scathing, "would be my home."

The elf's eyes opened comically wide, his hands flying up into a placating gesture.

"No no, that is not what I meant at all, I just… I'm sorry," he said, deflating. "I'm not good with words."

"I can tell," Robbie grumbled.

"I meant to say," the elf started anew, voice bolder, "that I have never seen a home such as yours before but I like it very much. Also thank you for saving me, you have saved my life!"

His tone was so earnest, so genuine that Robbie had half a mind to blush but thought better of it.

"It was no big deal," he mumbled, pushing the cup about on the mushroom table, his shoulders drawing up to his ears. "Anyway, you should drink this. Grandmother used to say that it soothes angry elves and rewards good ones so I figured it couldn't help to try…"

The rest of his sentence was lost somewhere in his throat when he handed the acorn shell full of cream to the elf who grabbed it with such enthusiasm that Robbie almost tipped over when he couldn't let go fast enough.

Grandmother Rotten knew her stuff, he had to give her that.

"This is amazing, where did you even get this?" The elf stopped drinking only long enough to ask that question.

Robbie shrugged. "I know people."

Well, he knew one person in particular.

When the little shell was empty the elf handed it back, smacking his lips.

"I'm surprised you didn't lick it clean," Robbie sighed and the elf had the decency to blush in a way that clashed horribly with the purple fabric of the bedding.

"I'm sorry, but this holds healing properties for my people," the elf explained. "Thank you, again. My name is Sportacus, who are you?"

Sportacus, huh? Weird. He would have expected something more… traditional but it suited the elfling before him. The cream seemed to have revived him and he was wiggling his feet under the blankets restlessly.

"You can call me Robbie."

"Are you a fairy?"

"What gave me away?" Robbie cast a pointed look at his wings, making them flutter lightly.

The elf, Sportacus, bit his lip. "It's just… I've never heard of fairies living underground before. Do all fairies do that?"

"It's, ah, a family tradition, you could say," Robbie explained, waving his hand about in what he felt was an encompassing motion. "Very cozy, no surprises. You get the idea."

The elf looked around again.

The earthen walls of his little home were illuminated by a single firefly lounging up against the far wall, contentedly gazing at the two unlikely companions. Apart from the mushroom table and the bark serving as a bed, there was a small pantry in the next room and a dresser made from a hollowed out root that grew through the cave filled with odds and ends like dishes and projects Robbie was working on.

Apart from that, his little cave, though big enough to do somersaults in if you were so inclined, was mostly empty.

"Is that your friend?"

The elf gestured towards the firefly.

"Her name is Lucy," Robbie answered and that was apparently all the answer he needed.

As far as company went, Robbie decided, Sportacus wasn't _horrible_ , especially for an elf.

Oh, and there he went, squashing all the fondness Robbie was starting to develop by trying to get up again.

"What are you _doing_?" Robbie asked in a shrill voice that came out one or two octaves higher than it was meant to.

Sportacus only grinned in response, two neat rows of slightly pointy teeth showing as he did so and Robbie winced a little.

The elf threw the covers off and swung his legs over the bark. When he got up, he experimentally crouched down on his heels and got up again with outstretched arms. He did that a few times and Robbie watched him with the sort of look you would bestow upon a particularly rambunctious puppy.

Seemingly satisfied, the elf nodded to himself and started unravelling the bandage wound around his head. Robbie didn't have it in himself to stop him, let that elf dig his own grave!

Surprisingly, there was no great flood of red and a toppled-over elf in its wake, Robbie noted with a start. Instead, there was the faintest glimmer of pink where the elf's blond curls faded into short brown at the side of his head.

"Let me see that," Robbie demanded, pushing the elf back into a sitting position and gingerly running his finger over the newly-mended flesh. "I didn't know elves were that good at healing magic…"

"We're not," the elf shook his head, still a little cautious. "It was a mixture of the lavender, the cream and magic. Yours as well as mine."

"Oh, it was nothing." Robbie waved the notion aside, grabbing a piece of honeycomb from a hazelnut bowl on the table and nibbling on it. "Does that mean you can go home now?"

The elf looked amused when he nodded.

"I can certainly try! My people will already be looking for me, my hummingbird arriving without me must have worried them greatly." He looked down with a frown on his face. "Though an empty-handed return will bring me much shame."

"Psshh, pleeease, better an empty-handed return than none at all. I mean, you could have also died back there, or been taken prisoner by these big brutes."

"You're right, Robbie," Sportacus said, his voice steeled. "I must use what opportunity life grants me. I shall try again another time."

"Out of curiosity… what did you want to steal from the trolls?" 

Sportacus shook his head. "Not stealing, taking back! The trolls have something of my uncle's and he… very much needs it. It's an elf thing."

Robbie nodded, feigning understanding. "Sure, an _elf thing_ , wouldn't want to miss any of _these_. Anyway, about the going thing? It should be dawn soon, you slept all through the evening and the night."

"Right, yes, if you could just point me in the direction of the forest?"

Robbie opened his mouth to tell the elf to just keep the damn sun in his back to get westwards when their conversation was stopped short by a rhythmic grumbling that seemed to be growing nearer by the second.

"What-" Robbie started before a warm hand over his mouth shushed him.

Sportacus shook his head with a warning glare in his blue eyes and held a finger to his own lips.

Robbie's eyes grew wide when he heard movement coming from where the hidden entrance chute to his home lay. There was a whump and a clang and then the feeling of his wards slowly being drained of their power.

Before he could work up the courage to protect his home and confront the intruders there was an insistent tug on his arm. He looked up into the blue eyes of the elfling. Strange, when had Robbie sunk to his knees?

"We have to leave, fast," the elf whispered. "Is there another way out?"

Robbie nodded, dazed, and tried getting up. The clamour coming from the main entrance hidden beneath an elderberry bush seemed like it belonged somewhere else. It had no place in his peaceful little existence and it certainly didn't help that Robbie started imagining his home being vandalized by fearsome creatures with muscles of stone and hearts of iron.

When his legs buckled again, the elf grabbed him under his arms and practically dragged him towards where Robbie pointed. A frantic push with shaking fingers revealed a hidden panel in the wall. The elf pushed down on it and Robbie heard a faint gasp from him when a formerly unseen door swung open to their right.

"Come on, come on." He was the one pushing the elf along now, manhandling him through the door and beckoning for the frightened firefly before closing the wooden contraption after the last pair of legs had passed him.

No sooner had the wood slid back into place, perfectly aligning with the packed dirt around it, that the flimsy woodplank serving as main entrance to his lair clattered to the ground, blown straight off the hinges.

"My home, no-" Robbie felt his heart beating somewhere around the vicinity of his eyebrows, a steady drum of pain starting to flow from his temples and he made an aborted motion back towards the door where they had escaped.

When there was sound of a commotion from inside, of things being thrown around and furniture overturned, he let himself be led away by the elfling. The insistent tug on his hands and the familiar light of the firefly dousing the low tunnel in a dim glow was the only thing keeping him from bursting into tears then and there.

 

~~~

 

Finally, they emerged into the hazy dawn of what promised to become another wonderful summer day. The tunnel had led them to a pretty bush of pink oleander in full bloom, but Robbie had no eye for the gorgeous display of colour around them.

"My home, it's… it's gone," he breathed, forlornly looking back towards the elderberry bush.

He could see traces of fur through the dense foliage of the meadow, the mounts and probably some guards waiting around while their brethren wreaked havoc in his cave. 

The world had a blurry sheen all of a sudden and Robbie noted with a detached sort of curiosity that tears were finally starting to well up in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he heard the elf whisper somewhere to his left. "This is all my fault."

Robbie felt himself shrug his shoulders.

"What's done is done. That big one must have been able to trace our magic, he almost got me yesterday while I was hiding." His voice was flat, dangerously so.

"I'll make it up to you somehow, I swear." The elf took Robbies 's hands into both of his, prompting the fairy to look at him. "I'm not sure how, yet, but I'm gonna make this all okay. I _promise_!"

There was a shift in the air around them and for a brief moment, it felt like the very ground under his feet gave way but then it was over as fast as it had started.

"You made a promise… A Deal! With _me_?" His own voice sounded foreign to his ears. "You hardly know me! I hardly know you!"

"There's no time for this now," the elf urged, "they might have noticed the burst of magic!"

Robbie's eyes grew wide and he scrambled up to his feet, leading the way towards the forest in a sort of hazy stupor after half-heartedly shooing the firefly back to his swarm and promising to look after her soon. The elfling had the decency to leave Robbie alone after that , at least, and the cloying silence draped over them like the last residues of morning fog.

Had summer always felt so cold and hopeless?

Thankfully, the trolls must have been either unable or too preoccupied with vandalizing his home to notice the Deal Sportacus had struck with him and wasn't that a peachy thing to be thinking about.

He grumbled low under his breath as he trudged through the familiar bends and turns, cursing the trolls, the elves, magic, that particular blade of grass that forced him a half-step to the left and everything else that he could think of.

Only when they finally reached the first outliers of the forest did he look up.

"Alright, we're here, that is my involvement in your life over and done with." Robbie metaphorically washed his hands of all that nonsene, pointedly not looking at the elf as he turned around to head back vaquely homewards, wherever that was now.

"Wait!" 

There was a hand on his upper arm, holding him back, and he reluctantly turned around to find the elf's blue eyes looking up at him and was that a wobble in those lips of his?

"I'm, I'm so sorry, I don't even know what to say to you," the elf breathed and before Robbie could resist, he had been pulled into a hug. It was warm and steady and he found himself clinging to it like a lifeline, barely registering how he returned the gesture and hid his face on the elf's shoulder, trying his damndest to keep the tears at bay.

The elf's hands pressed gently into the small of his back, right under where wings broke through skin. For the first time this morning they lost some of their nervous energy and hung down limply. It was only then that Robbie noticed how tense the muscles in his back had become.

After a while, the elf pulled back, keeping his hands on Robbie's shoulders. Robbie could feel the warmth of Sportacus' palms through his purple linen shirt, and he took a deep breath, trying to get his flighty thoughts back under control.

"You have been very brave, Robbie, and it's because of me that you lost your home." It looked like there was an electric current pulsating through his eyes like blue lightning. "I don't make Deals lightly."

There were too many emotions coursing through Robbie at this moment and he had to break free of the elf's light grip, turning his back to him.

"Whatever."

The elf had the audacity to chuckle at that.

"You should come with me, Robbie. My uncle is an important man, he will know what to do about your home, and about these trolls."

Robbie looked back at the elf's face, hope glimmering invitingly in those blue eyes and he let out a deep sigh.

What was there to lose, after all? He had nowhere to go, and he might at least get a full meal out of this with his pantry now a thing of the past.

"Alright," he simply said, shoulders slumped, but jaw set stubbornly.

He didn't look back at the elf's reaction, instead opting to direct his attention towards their goal: the forest.

Right.

"Sportacus?"

"What is it, Robbie?"

Robbie took a deep breath.

"I have never left this meadow in my life."


	3. Strawberry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the nice comments. It will stay as whimsical as I can manage and hopefully surprise you with a couple twists and turns I have planned :>
> 
> Also, you know what? SENPAI NOTICED ME *waves to breakfastandfurious* I can die happy now.

His steps were quiet on the moss covering most of the ground around his feet, made more springy by the devious plant than he meant them.

Robbie had relinquished control of leadership to the elf as soon as they had crossed the forests threshold.

Shoulders up to his ears and wings curled protectively around him, Robbie must have been quite the depressing sight indeed. The elf kept looking back at him, brows curled in worry.

The trees to either side of the sugar fairy loomed impossibly high, each trunk a fortress and every rustle of leaves overhead a trap waiting to happen.

"I'm hungry," he complained because that was the least embarrassing thing to whine about. "I need a steady diet of sugar and mead and all things sweet to keep me afloat, you know? Not all of us can keep this speed up with nothing but a gulp of, ugh, cream in their bellies."

The elf halted, a sigh escaping his lips.

"I am also hungry, my body used the energy from the cream mostly for healing purposes." He looked around, crossing his arms in the process. "It should not be much longer before my peoples' protections will take heed of me and alert the others of my return."

"I hope they will feel a fraction of that happiness upon discovering that their prodigal son is in the company of a fairy," Robbie commented dryly. 

"Any friend of mine will be welcome in my uncle's Court," the elf grinned, aiming to clasp a hand on Robbie's shoulder but missing when the fairy pulled away.

"And since when have we been friends, exactly?" Robbie asked incredulously, hands on his hips and wings fluttering anxiously behind him.

Instead of answering, the elf let out a cry of joy and pointed behind Robbie.

"Oh nonono, mister elf, I am not buying this oldest trick in the- aaand he ran off."

Robbie decided to turn around after all and found the elf climbing nimbly on a strange little plant that had two big red fruits hanging from its dainty stems.

"And what on earth are you doing now?"

"Getting food, Robbie," was the enthusiastic reply. "Here, catch!"

Taken by surprise, Robbie opened his arms wide and caught one of the surprisingly heavy pieces of fruit with a graceful "oomph!" noise.

"Food?" He asked from behind the red monstrosity and lowered it to the ground to watch the elf quickly descend from the plant and land next to him with a flip. "This isn't food."

"Well, what do fairies normally eat if you don't think strawberries are food?"

"I'm not just any fairy," Robbie harrumphed. "I am a sugar fairy and we eat nectar and honey and honeycombs."

"What, like a _bee_?" The elf's face was shining with mirth.

"Wh- no! I mean, yes, _technically_ , but… uuugh, nevermind. I wasn't even that hungry to begin with. Enjoy your stupid straw."

"I didn't mean it like that, Robbie, please." The elf picked up the fruit that was half as big as he was with ease and jogged after Robbie. "It's just, I, I've never heard of a sugar fairy before."

Robbie just shrugged. "Few have."

The two walked next to each other for a while, Robbie concentrating on his feet to keep from being too intimidated by the trees. The moss had given way to a thick layer of packed dirt now and the tree roots had become more dense, forcing them to continue their path in zig zags.

"You know, if you like sweet things, I think you'd really enjoy this strawberry."

"And I am really not interested in your opinion on my diet, thank you very much."

The elf just shrugged, leaving the remnants of the strawberry behind on the wayside.

 

~~

 

"So how long exactly is it until those protections kick in?" Robbie asked, sitting down next to a tree root and leaning back against it.

When his wings protested against the rough wood, he hugged his knees instead and fluffed the soft membranes up with a flutter.

He caught the elf staring and raised a skillfully kept eyebrow that made his companion flush the most delightful shade of pink.

"Ah, yes, you see… everything looks so different from the ground. It takes a lot longer than when I'm on my hummingbird."

Robbie nodded wearily, pressing his forehead against his knees. They had been marching the whole morning without pause and if he wasn't mistaken, the sun had already passed its zenith. His legs were beginning to cramp up something fierce and his arms were sore. The roots had become too many to avoid so they had taken to actually climbing over them.

"So you don't know how long it will take," Robbie groaned, artfully flopping onto his belly and letting his wings drape themselves over him.

"I've, uh, I've been wondering why you don't, you know, just… fly? Over the roots, I mean?"

Robbie stilled involuntarily.

"It wouldn't be fair to you since you can't do that," he simply said. 

"And is that all there is to it?"

Robbie opened one eye and looked to the elf who was doing some kind of hand-walking thing on a particularly gnarly-looking piece of root.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem awfully defensive?"

There was an impish little glint sparkling in the elf's eyes now and he had done a number of twists and flips through the air to land next to Robbie. 

"If you want to know if I can, in fact, fly, then the answer is yes," Robbie said, laboriously getting up from the ground and dusting his already pretty stained clothes off. "But it's really hard and I'm really, really lazy so I generally… don't."

"You are a very strange creature, Robbie the sugar fairy," the elf said, beaming with that infuriatingly perfect smile of his. "And I'm glad we have met, though I would have wished it to be under less dire circumstances."

Robbie didn't really know what to say to that so he merely turned away with a cough that sounded fake even to his own ears.

"Soo… have you, uh, tried calling for your people? Shouldn't you have like a, hm, an emergency call or something? We should be far enough away from the trolls, don't you think?"

He didn't even have to turn around to hear Sportacus jaw hitting the floor.

 

~~~

 

"Stephanie, here! Here we are!"

"She has obviously seen you, she is waving back like a maniac."

"Haha, Stephanie, hello, here!"

"Ugh!"

Stephanie, as it turned out, was as pink and dainty as a Watsonia flower. It was fitting, then, that the hummingbird she was leading behind her own mount followed without a fuss.

Before her hummingbird had even touched the ground, the girl had jumped down from its back with a flip and catapulted herself into the other elf's waiting arms. Robbie stuck out a tongue at that. 

"Sportacus, we were so worried about you when Goggi returned without you! What happened?"

"I was almost captured by a troll search party, but I could trick them with a glamour after I had been hit," he explained with a broad grin.

"Hit? Oh no, your head!" Stephanie's slender fingers ghosted over the fresh scar on the elf's head. "How did it heal so quickly? Were you successful..?"

Sportacus shook his head. "Sadly, no. It was only thanks to my new friend here that I made it so far. He selflessly helped me with no regard for his own safety."

"Is that true?" The girl looked at Robbie with solemn eyes that betrayed her youthful looks and Robbie found himself shrinking in on himself a little.

"I guess?" He squeaked.

Before he could step away, the pink little elfling had enveloped him in a tight hug that was over as fast as it started.

"Thank you," she breathed, a thin line of tears appearing in her eyes.

"It was nothing," Robbie shrugged. "I bet a lot of people would love to have their home destroyed for a new… friend."

"Robbie," he heard Sportacus groan and turned to see the elf look at him with a deeply pained expression.

"Robbie?" Stephanie asked, with a thoughtful expression.

The girl's eyes roamed over his wings, his face, and he had half a mind to feel incredibly violated.

"You're that fairy," she said, slowly. "The one from the meadow."

"Look, Sportacus, is she your sister or something? Or are all elves that good at stating the obvious?"

His companion merely shrugged, that haunted expression still on his face. "We are not related by blood, but she has been my dearest friend since I came to live at my uncle's Court."

"Wait, your uncle's Court? As in, _his_ court? He's the... _king_ and the trolls weren't lying when they said you're a prince?"

Sportacus had the decency to look sheepish.

"He has no offspring, so I'm his only heir at the moment. That is why I came to live here, to learn the ways of the forest."

"But you're royalty, and you made a stupid, stupid, loose, rushed, _stupid_ Deal with me! Don't you have any kind of self-preservation instinct? Like, _at all_?"

Robbie was muttering himself into a frenzy, grabbing at his face and already seeing swarms of battle-hardened elves descend on him to free their prince of this ludicrous Deal with a ludicrous little fairy.

"Wait, you made a Deal?" Stephanie looked at them both. "What kind of Deal?"

"I… kind of promised Robbie to…" Sportacus wrung for words, "to make it all okay?"

Even to Robbie's untrained ears, this Deal didn't sound any better the second time around.

Stephanie merely sighed, weary.

"This is bad, this is really bad."

"Come on, it's not that bad, cut that man some slack," Robbie grumbled. "It's not like I'm gonna strike him down or anything if my new cave isn't peachy-perfect like my old one was. I'm not some monster."

"That's not it," Stephanie breathed, wringing her hands in her little pink tunic. "Sportacus, while you were gone, your uncle, he… he decided on open war against the trolls. He's going to rally our troops and march into battle!"

Sportacus paled and Robbie was left to stare between them, not quite comprehending. Sure, war was bad, but what..?

"Robbie," Sportacus said, his voice very far away, "do you think the elves will fight the trolls in their caves and mountains to the south?"

"No?"

"Do you think the trolls will fight the elves among the trees?"

"No? Oh. OH. Oh NO!"

They were gonna fight on his meadow, weren't they? They were gonna crumple his lavender and his honeysuckle beds and his oleander and they would kill Lucy and the little field mice family that sometimes traded with him and that stupid old mole and that ridiculous grasshopper with his stupid violin and-

"Robbie, _breathe_!"

That was Sportacus. Robbie clung to that voice like a lifeline, letting himself be pulled out of the depths of his own rapidly downwards-swirling thoughts.

"I'm going to lose my home all over again," he forced out with not enough air in his lungs. "I may be lazy and cranky sometimes, but I don't deserve any of this."

He was retching now but his stomach was empty and all it did was make his throat ache something fierce.

His wings were curled around him, now, shielding him from the two elves. How stupid he had been, he should have left well enough alone! If he hadn't rescued that stupid elfling with his stupid moustache and stupid twinkling blue eyes, then the trolls would have never come after them.

Or would they?

Robbie found himself scowling. If there was a war planned, then they would have all come anyway, wouldn't they? And he wouldn't even have been prepared.

So this was actually his chance to change something!

His eyes grew wide. Sportacus was a prince, heir to the throne of an elven Court and Robbie had a Deal with him. He could _do_ something.

"Alright," he pressed out, opening his cocoon of purple and midnight blue. "Alright. We need to go now. We need to talk to that uncle of yours."

The elves seemed surprised to see him again, all calm and business-like.

He bristled at that. "Look, there's only so much loss one fairy can experience before they can decide to either break or to _get the hell on with it and do something_."

Okay, so the last part was a little more forceful than strictly necessary but it set the elves all alight with big matching grins and fire in their eyes.

"You got it, Robbie," Stephanie beamed.

"Yes, let's go to my uncle. He'll know what to do!"

With their destination decided, there was little left to do but… wait.

"You are… not expecting me to get onto one of those things, though, are you?"

Robbie eyed the hummingbirds with a mixture of awe and trepidation. They looked right back and he was soon locked into a staring contest with one of them. Goggi, wasn't it?

"You know, Robbie," Sportacus said thoughtfully, sidling up beside him, "I would have guessed that you would become fast friends with our birds."

"Oh, and what gave you that impression?"

"Your diet is basically the same, they mostly eat nectar."

Robbie eyes widened and he considered the birds with a new-found appreciation.

"Yes, well, nothing better than a healthy dose of nectar is what every sugar fairy parent will tell their offspring, so… your birds do have the right idea."

"Right! Now that that's decided, we should go. Robbie, you ride with me, I'm a more experienced rider than Stephanie."

"But… can he carry both of us?" Robbie asked incredulously.

"They are very strong and agile birds," Sportacus explained. "And it shouldn't be very far to the Court?"

He looked over at Stephanie at that and the girl nodded, mounting her bird.

"Hold on, hold on, they don't have a saddle or anything like that."

Sportacus and Stephanie exchanged a concerned look at that and, wow, Robbie was getting really tired of their apparent ability to communicate without words.

"I didn't know Sportacus had company," the girl explained with a frown. "If I had known that he was with a friend, I would have made more suitable preparations…"

"Don't worry, Stephanie, Robbie will just have to hold onto me very tightly."

"Couldn't he just use his own-"

Stephanie stopped that sentence when Sportacus sent her a Look.

With a sigh, Robbie turned back to Goggi who was watching him warily. He shrugged once, went up to the bird and put a hesitating hand on its beak. There was a very short burst of a soft purple shower of light and then the bird was chirping noisily, almost vibrating with happy energy.

Sportacus ran up next to his bird, looking from him to Robbie.

"What..?"

"Somebody had a lot of questions about your whereabouts after you were hit and I answered those, and a couple more."

"You can _talk_ to birds!?" Stephanie was beginning to vibrate almost as much as Goggi where she was perched on her own bird.

"Not just birds," Robbie clarified, "all animals that have half a mind to listen. And… it's less like talking and more like, like, communicating with pictures and general feelings? It's really hard to describe."

Stephanie was watching him almost reverently now and he half expected her to jump from her bird and come shake his shoulders until he had told her all his secrets.

As it was, Sportacus mounted Goggi without wasting any more time and bid Robbie mount behind him.

Weary but also happy about not having to walk anymore, Robbie climbed on Goggi's back. There really wasn't much space with the two of them perched there together and he had to wrap his arms around the elf to keep from falling when Goggi got on his feet.

"Is, is that alright? I think I'll fall off if I don't, you know, do this?"

Sportacus was laughing openly now, patting Robbie's arms with a warm hand.

"I told you to hold tight!" The elf grabbed the reins with both hands and gave a command in what must have been the elf's own language.

Before Robbie could utter last-minute second thoughts or prayers to… basically whoever would listen, Goggi had already taken off like a cannon ball.

The forest flew by like a blur of green and brown and Robbie could only hold on tight to Sportacus. His stomach was reeling with the speed and the fast movements the bird executed to keep from colliding with the trees that had started to crowd every available space around them.

When it became too much, he buried his probably very pale face in Sportacus' shoulder, all pretenses of decorum and aloofness forgotten in the face of nausea and vertigo.

After what felt like an eternity but couldn't have been more than a couple minutes, the trees parted with what Robbie would have sworn was some kind of sound effect.

They entered a clearing that housed a huge oak tree that towered over its neighbours like that Farbauti had among his brutish comrades and wasn't that a comforting metaphor? Robbie shook his head and gritted his teeth.

In any case, it was beautiful. The summer sun illuminated the myriad structures artfully built and woven into the tree's gnarled branches with a soft, ethereal glow. But they weren't just any structures, Robbie realised, they were buildings and walkways and bridges, all on that big tree and the ones surrounding it!

The windows and paths were lined with flowers and plants and there were elves milling about on cluttered market streets and children running and- Robbie couldn't wrap his head around how this was so very near where he had lived all his life in solitude.

"If trees had titles," Robbie exclaimed into Sportacus' ear, "this one would be a baron, no, a duke, wait, no, it would be a _king_!"

"Well, a king _does_ live here," Sportacus called back against the wind and Robbie could practically hear that unguarded smile of his. "And we will meet him soon!"

Robbie grinned despite himself and the horrible day he had had. Things seemed to be finally looking up now: they had made it to the Court unscathed and with any kind of luck, the king himself would soon be on his side.

He hugged the elf in front of him a little tighter as the tree grew nearer and drank in every impression of the beauty that unfolded before him.


	4. Honeycomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this story practically writes itself it's amazing

Robbie wasn't used to being the center of attention. Much less the center of attention of what seemed to be the whole damn elf population in this whole cursed forest!

The moment their two hummingbirds had touched ground in the vast stables located near the base of the old tree, Robbie had noticed the murmurs and ever since then, they hadn't stopped.

The stablehands had greeted their prince with as much enthusiasm as Robbie had expected, given his companion's affable demeanor, and a great many pats of the backs, firm handshakes and good to see yous had been exchanged.

Still, that was where the Looks had started. They were eyeing him- or, more accurately, they were eyeing his rounded, decidedly not pointed ears and his wings.

He was different here, and he knew from tales his grandmother had told that elves were, above all, curious little things.

As it was, he found himself walking up precarious wooden walkways perched like coiling snakes at the side of the tree. Doors of bark and windows shaped like dew drops led into the interior of the mighty trunk and curious faces peered back at him from cozy little living rooms.

The streets were lined with little stalls and merchants peddling their wares and Robbie would have liked to stay and look at some of the fine cloth and delicate china on display there. But the gaggle of elves around them grew ever tighter and some of the braver ones even started reaching out dainty little hands to try and touch his wings.

"Sportacus," Robbie whispered, voice tight and posture stiff, his hand reaching for the elf's elbow.

To his credit, the elf reacted in an instant.

He stopped in his tracks on the larger platform they had just reached, steadying Robbie with a firm hand on his upper arm when that made the man stumble.

"Thank you for welcoming back my companions and me, my friends," he called out to the elves surrounding them. "I'm glad to be among you once more."

"Is it true that you were lost, Sportacus?"

A little elfling in the crowd had raised his arm in the air when he had asked the question, his surprisingly pudgy little face creased with worry.

"I wasn't lost so much as I was found, Ziggy," Sportacus explained with a patient smile. "It is only thanks to my new friend and ally, Robbie, that I stand before you now, unharmed and back where I belong."

Robbie's eyes grew wide when the sea of handsome faces turned to him with expectant expressions and he gave an uneasy wave by flipping his arm up sharply.

"What are the trolls doing, Sportacus?" An older elf asked next, and Robbie felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Come on," Stephanie whispered, leading him away from the mob that was glued to Sportacus' every word. "He'll be a while, but he'll catch up. I have to get you away from the main road or they'll never leave you in peace."

"You don't seem as… focused on differences as they do," Robbie said slowly, following her when she ducked into a doorway that led them into the inside of the trunk.

"I'm not from here," the girl explained with a shy look over her shoulder. "Where I come from, there were other races, too. Even a couple fairies, so… I'm used to seeing wings and round ears. None who could communicate with animals, though."

He blushed a little at the implied compliment, thinking that maybe, if he was in the mood for it, he'd teach her a thing or two after the worst was over.

"Well, I gues you've never met a sugar fairy before, then," he started, explaining to her what he had explained to Sportacus earlier while they were walking.

The inside of the tree trunk was more like the home Robbie had known in his cave, full of nooks and crannies and winding little tunnels hewn into the very wood. They passed some corridors and ascended some stairs, lighted by torches that glowed with a blueish light, with Stephanie constantly steering him away from clusters of elves talking amongst themselves.

Finally, they emerged into the sunlight once more. A little further up as they were now, the crowds were no longer as thick though the few elves that were milling about still fixed him with surprised stares and low murmurs.

Before he had the chance to become self-conscious again, Stephanie took his hand and pulled him into a basket that hung a little distance away from the winding pathways.

"Hold tight!" She grinned and before Robbie could ask why exactly he should be doing such a thing, the basket haltingly stirred into motion.

With a shriek, Robbie clung to the railing and felt his stomach clench as the basket accelerated, some thrice-cursed contraption of wood and rope hauling them ever higher towards the top of the tree.

"Where are we even going and why does it have to be so high up!" Robbie complained, closing his eyes and failing miserably to control his labored breathing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't you had a problem with heights and this, uh, movement thingie." The girl actually sounded sincere and when Robbie forced one eye open to look at her, he saw her worrying her lips.

"No no, it's, it's fine, everything's fine," Robbie found himself reassuring her, willing his body into a more relaxed posture. "So, where are we going?"

"To Íþróttaálfurinn!"

"And what, exactly, would that be?"

"Not what, silly, _who_ ," Stephanie giggled. "Íþróttaálfurinn is Sportacus' uncle, our king."

Robbie paled.

"And that… guy, does he happen to have another name he is called? Something like… Tim, or or or, or… Larry?"

Stephanie laughed openly at that, crossing her arms with a fond smile.

"I can see why Sportacus likes you, you're funny." As if she didn't see Robbie's blush, she continued undeterred. "Us children are allowed to call him King Ithro, I feel like he won't mind you calling him that, as well."

Just as those words had left her mouth, the basket came to an abrupt stop and Robbie feared he wouldn't be able to ask the dozens of questions he still had. How did you even treat elvish royalty? Sportacus was nice enough, but what if this Ithro guy wasn't?

He was about to voice approximately six questions at once in rapid succession when the both of them were stopped by serious-looking elves clad in the same ornate armour made of polished wood that Sportacus wore.

"Halt!" The younger of the two called out, their spears crossing the only path that led from the basket they had emerged from. "What is your business with the king?"

When his gaze settled on the wings on Robbie's back, his handsome face turned into a frown and the grip on his spear tightened.

His comrade, older and with kind eyes of chestnut brown, laid a hand on the young soldier's shoulder.

"Calm your vigour, Loftur," he said with a light voice, "this fairy means no harm to our monarch. He is bound by oath to our young prince."

Robbie, who had momentarily hidden behind Stephanie, and Loftur both looked curiously at the old elf.

“And how would you know that?" Robbie asked with a doubtful expression, daring to emerge from behind the pink elf girl.

"The air smells of change and magic, and you are a catalyst," the old elf replied quizzically. "When you reach my age, you have learned a thing or two about fate. And if I know one thing about magic, it's that you must not stand in its way."

He smiled fondly at Stephanie, next.

"And no one who travels with my lovely little niece could ever mean harm to our home."

With that, the old elf left his comrade at his post at the baskets and led Robbie and Stephanie once more into the very heart of the tree.

"Thank you, uncle Milford," Stephanie smiled, holding onto the portly elf's arm as they walked. "Robbie is very good and he saved Sportacus' life!"

"Oh my," Milford breathed, the hand holding the spear clutching his chest and almost knocking his helmet off in the process. "So that feeling I felt was no mere feeling at all. Thank you for saving our prince, Robbie."

"Yeah yeah, pleasure," Robbie said, not for the first time today, and found himself growing antsy again as they ascended yet more stairs. "How far up does that guy live!"

Just then, they reached the top of the stairs and climbed out through a trapdoor-like hatch that was almost too small for Robbie's wings and found themselves outside again.

"Come on, Stephanie, Robbie will have to talk to the king alone."

"But uncle, I want to stay with him!"

"Yeah, what she said!" Robbie found himself agreeing, not wanting to lose the only person next to Sportacus who gave a damn about him in this rabbit burrow of a tree.

"No no, we must leave, my dear," Milford said, shaking his head and beginning to descend through the hatch once more.

In the blink of an eye, Stephanie had darted forward, giving Robbie a tight hug he returned after a moment's hesitation. When she had pulled away with a wobbly smile, he felt something in his fist that hadn't been there a second ago.

"This is my kind of magic," she whispered, "use it when you are in need of aid and your allies will come."

With that and a last brave nod she was off after her uncle and Robbie was alone.

He gulped before turning around and surveyed the platform he was standing on. It was small, no bigger than two of him across, and there were more of them around him, scattered in the crown of the tree.

He must have been really high up by now.

Trying not to think of what could happen to his body if he fell, he wondered what he should do. Should he wait for Sportacus? The girl had said he would catch up but he hadn't yet. There were probably too many questions for him in the square.

Robbie felt a pang of pity and worried his lip while searching for what to do. In the end, he was afraid of that hothead Loftur coming after him and decided to try his luck with the king.

A brief scan of his surroundings promised a larger platform further away, higher up than all others and he decided that this was probably the most likely destination for his objective.

Sighing, he started scaling the rope ladders connecting the platforms and did his best to avoid looking down. After having taken one route that led to a dead end he had to look down a little to find his footing while descending a rope ladder and that had probably been the worst thing he ever had to do in his life, thank you very much.

When he had finally reached the underside of the large platform he heaved a heavy sigh and started climbing one last time. The air seemed to grow denser as he moved up rung after rung and there was a feeling of passing through a layer of mist that felt like a shower of warm summer rain.

Wards.

When he swung a leg over the edge of the platform at last, panting on hands and knees for a couple seconds with his wings draping forlornly behind when he had heaved himself completely over, he thanked his lucky stars time and time again that he didn't fall.

He felt the heavy weight of a powerful gaze on him, of course, had been feeling it ever since he had passed the wards, and he took in a last big gulp of air before righting himself up and facing the king of the elves.

Almost immediately, he did a double take. The elf who was standing near the other end of the platform, hands clasped behind his back and armor oiled so finely it shone like molten brass looked identical to Sportacus!

Only when his hesitating feet brought him closer did Robbie notice the differences that had gotten lost during the initial shock. The elf looked older than Sportacus, the beginnings of crows' feet adorning his somehow still boyish face and instead of Sportacus' moustache, he had managed to grow a full beard- quite a feat for the notoriouly smooth-skinned elves.

He was also taller than Sportacus, Robbie found when he came closer, but stockier as well, muscles hard and sturdy like the tree he called his kingdom.

"Fairy," he greeted in a warm voice that held the faintest trace of the same accent Sportacus had so much stronger. "Welcome to my kingdom. I'm afraid my messengers haven't quite been able to relay your name."

"My name is Robbie your, uh, highness," he answered when he had reached the king, not knowing whether you bowed to elven royalty or what.

With a shrug, he stuck his hand out at the monarch, relieved when the elf took it with an amused smile and not so relieved after all when he became victim of a couple of vigorous shakes that left his fingers all numb and tingly.

"I am Íþróttaálfurinn, king of this court, but… you may call me Ithro." The king's eyes bore into his and Robbie was thankful for it, having had enough of his body being ogled for one day. "Tell me, what binds you to my nephew?"

Robbie took a deep breath and started talking since it was no use trying to keep anything secret from a king; much less a king who had magic and a seemingly well-informed network of messengers. Robbie was many things and not all of them good, but he wasn't foolish enough to oppose a king. No matter if he was war-mongering or peaceful.

He spoke of many things, then. Of the trolls and their fearsome mounts and Farbauti's thunderous voice, how the troll had been searching for him and how he was saved by sheer luck. How he had found Sportacus, dragged him home, bandaged and healed him. Only when the next part started did his voice waver for the first time and he paused, turning his body from the king and putting his arms around himself.

Telling somebody about his home being destroyed made it more real than it had been before and Robbie felt the exhaustion of a sleepless night and a foodless day tug insistenly behind his temples.

"There is more to it, isn't there?" Ithro asked after a while. "My nephew has done something reckless."

"He made a Deal with me," Robbie pressed out, voice thin. "A horrible Deal, even for fairy standards."

Ithro's face darkened and he nodded gravely.

"Yes, that's what I had suspected. Tell me, what are the terms of the Deal he settled the both of you with?"

Robbie grinned, snickering to himself.

"He promised to make it all okay."

The following silence from Ithro was expectant and he raised a curious eyebrow when Robbie stayed silent, then two, then his mouth opened as well and it was all rather comical so Robbie couldn't help but laugh. It was a great, big, bellowing laugh that shook his sore rips and had him hunch his shoulders in an attempt to keep it in but it was futile.

He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and took a deep breath when the tremors subsided.

"I'm afraid that's it, that's all he said."

Ithro seemed to deflate, holding a hand to his forehead in what Robbie thought was an effort to stay calm.

"This is Glanni all over again," the king muttered and Robbie jolted upright at this, eyes wide.

"Say wha-"

Of course, Sportacus chose this moment to jump onto the platform where Robbie had crawled up and run up to them, relief written openly on his face when he saw that Robbie was well.

"I'm sorry, Robbie, I should have taken a different route with you," he apologised, not even a little out of breath. "Thankfully, Stephanie was there to help."

Robbie merely nodded and gestured to the king with a jerk of his head. Sportacus followed his gaze and his face fell when confronted with his uncle's unhappy frown.

Instead of reprimanding or shouting though, the king heaved a sigh that seemed to expand his polished breastplate in its intensity and his face softened. He clasped Sportacus with arms like tree branches and pulled him close. The embrace was reciprocated by Sportacus with just as much vigour and Robbie felt uneasy at witnessing such an intimate scene.

"You're just like your mother," Ithro said when he finally held Sportacus' an arm length away. "Always rushing in headfirst trying to help everyone with no regard for your own safety."

"Funny," Sportacus said with a melancholy smile, regarding his uncle fondly, "she used to say the same thing about you when I was young."

 

~~~

 

"So I take it then you weren't successful?"

"I'm sorry, uncle, but I was apprehended when I tried infiltrating their lair. I was lucky to be able to escape at all."

Sportacus and Ithro were talking shop back in the safety of a grand hall in one of the upper levels of the tree trunk while having supper and Robbie had never been so thankful in his life about having a full plate of food in front of him. King Ithro seemed to know his way around sugar fairies, or at least someone at his Court did, because whereas he and his nephew were feasting on a rainbow of fresh fruit, Robbie's plate was heaved with a generous helping of honeycombs and his mug full of nectar.

"- don't you think, Robbie?"

"Huh? What?"

"I was asking whether you too found the trolls strange?"

Robbie lowered the honeycomb and thought back to Farbauti, forehead creased with worry.

"I remember wondering whether trolls could sense magic. I… seem to remember that they don't?"

"They don't," Ithro explained with a weary expression. "They took something important from me and it imbued them with more power than they know what to do with. That's why we need to go to war against them, and soon. When they realise the true potential of what they stole… the thought alone pains me."

"I can't allow that," Robbie said, voice harder than he himself had anticipated. "It's my meadow and I can't let you ruin it even more than it has already been ruined."

"Normally, this would be the point where I thanked you for your help and asked you politely to leave after gifting you a generous prize for your service to my Court." The king got up, pacing the room. "As it stands, though, my nephew's rash actions pose numerous challenges I have yet to overcome. I shall speak with my council, you two will retire for the evening and rest. There is much still to speak about in the morning."

Robbie, no longer hungry and sitting down for the first time in what felt like forever as he was, felt the urge to challenge the king's orders. Sportacus' hand on his arm quelled that notion, though, and he nodded haltingly, letting his weariness wash over him.

"My uncle is right, Robbie, you need the rest, and I do as well." Taking his hand and pulling, Sportacus stood. "Come, I'll show you to your room."

With a last look at the brooding face of king Íþróttaálfurinn, Robbie let himself be pulled deeper into the bowels of the mighty oak.

There was no sleep for him tonight, he knew. Many plans needed to be hatched and countless arguments prepared. This war couldn't take place on his meadow, he simply wouldn't allow it. And that energetic elfling that had sold his soul to him so eagerly was his key to survival and victory.

If only the guy wasn't so wall-breakingly _nice_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be copious amounts of Glanni in this later on because I am trASH


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay, before we start this show...
> 
> There is FANART for this and I am SCREAMING.
> 
> Kessavel-art on tumblr procured this masterpiece from somewhere out of their brilliant, beautiful mind and I LOVE it. Thank you so much!
> 
> http://kessavel-art.tumblr.com/post/165882140000/idk-i-like-tiny-people
> 
>  
> 
> Without further ado, let's get this story rolling. Thanks again for all the nice comments, I love you guys :>

 

When Robbie woke up, it was from a traitorous ray of sunshine tickling his nose. At first, he was disoriented, staring at his unfamiliar surroundings in wide-eyed confusion before the memory of his eventful last days returned.

He was in that big tree. Latibær, the elf had called it yesterday, when he had shown Robbie the small chamber that was to be his room for the duration of his stay here. Sleep had come slowly to him after the elf had bid him a tired farewell last night since there was a distinct sort of rocking sensation this high up in the branches.

There was only a bed, a small dresser with a bowl of water on top and a little stool in the room but Robbie could appreciate the minimalism.

With a yawn, he washed his face in the bowl and looked out through the window into a beautiful summer morning. The healthy leaves of the big oak were vibrating with life and the shining acorns made him homesick for his lost dishes. Elf patrols on hummingbirds were whirring past the outer edges of the tree, their ridiculous mounts vibrating like the flickering flames of wind-shaken candles.

Leaving the room brought Robbie into the bowels of the tree once more. He followed the path into the light and came upon a great balcony fastened to the side of the great trunk. There sat Sportacus, surrounded by a gaggle of elf kids in what seemed to be all the colours of the rainbow.

It was way too early for their joyful laughter and mindless chattering. Robbie had just resolved to crawl back into the heavenly soft bed when Stephanie, who was also among the kids, spotted him.

"Robbie, you're awake," she greeted enthusiastically, causing all the heads to swivel in his direction.

Robbie groaned.

"Remember kids, I told you to go easy on Robbie, he had a rough couple of days."

That was Sportacus and Robbie felt something suspiciously like gratitude when the kids visibly forced themselves to relax.

"Stephanie said you can talk to animals," a small blonde boy piped up who just couldn't seem to control himself and Robbie recognized him from the crowd. "Can you? Huh? Can you?"

Robbie glared at Stephanie who looked back sheepishly and mouthed a not very convincing "sorry" at him.

"That would be correct," he answered brusquely, not a fan of the attention at all. 

"Leave him alone, Ziggy," a dark-skinned boy a little taller than Stephanie said. "He's just arrived and he needs a little rest. And stop staring at his wings, Stingy, that's rude."

A little elf with a handsome face and a rather ridiculously little bow tie pinned to his yellow tunic tore his gaze away from Robbbie with a whine.

"But look at how shiny they are, it's not fair! My great-great-grandmother was a fairy as well, you know, and you don't see _me_ having wings."

"You've told us about your great-great-grandmother a million times already, Stingy," a pig-tailed girl complained with a loud, grating voice, starting to pull Stingy and Ziggy away. "You're gonna scare him off, now let's go. We still have work to do in the stables if we want to be soldiers one day."

"Okay, Trixie," Ziggy said dutifully, saluting awkwardly but nevertheless enthusiastic to Sportacus and following the loud girl through another door that led presumably down towards the stables.

"Pixel, Stephanie, you can leave, I… uh, I need to ask Sportacus an important question before I go," Stingy tried, eyes trained on Robbie's wings.

"Stop being a creep, Stinge," Pixel laughed, throwing the smaller boy over his shoulder with ease and following their friends. "If you miss stable duty again you will be the only one of us who isn't a soldier."

Stingy harrumphed at that, crossing his arms over Pixel's back.

"I'll just be your captain, then," he said airily, holding his nose up as much as he could in his current awkward position.

"Yeah, you do that," Pixel snorted as the boys rounded the corner.

Stephanie sidled up close to Robbie and beckoned him bend down with a crooked finger. He obliged, if only because he was a little curious.

"I'm glad you didn't need my gift yesterday," Stephanie whispered. "King Ithro is a good ruler, but he… he has a history with fairies so I wanted to be sure that you're okay. I didn't want to worry you yesterday."

Robbie made a choking noise somewhere in the back of his throat and Stephanie looked worried for a second, then laughed, her light giggles momentarily chasing away the clouds darkening his mind.

"I like your face," she admitted. "It always makes so many expressions, and I like the colours you put on it."

Bewildered, Robbie straightened up again, brows drawn in confusion. No one had ever complimented him on his face before or appreciated the effort he put into maintaining his distinctive style. He didn't really know how to react to that, so he… didn't.

Stephanie giggled again when he worked hard at not looking at her and ran after her friends with a last wave towards Sportacus.

Right, that guy was also still there.

"She likes you," Sportacus said with a small smile playing around his mouth.

"Yeah, well, I saved her mentor," Robbie shrugged.

Sportacus only shook his head fondly and Robbie wanted to strangle him but also hug him again. Instead, he settled for crossing his arms and walking over to the balcony. When he made the mistake of looking down, his knees buckled and he shakily made his way over to a bench, Sportacus' steady hand on his back in an instant.

"This is still as high as yesterday," Robbie commented lamely, going for a jokey approach.

Thankfully, Sportacus gigglesnorted rather ungracefully at that and hid his face behind a balled fist.

"You would be correct," he agreed, getting a wooden bowl from a nearby table and handing it to Robbie. "Here, I got you some honeycombs like you ate in your home."

Robbie accepted the bowl with no questions asked, chowing down on the delightfully sweet meal.

"So the kids want to be soldiers?" He asked around a mouthful of honey.

"Well, not… not quite, I think," Sportacus said after a moment's consideration. "What they really want to do is ride a hummingbird and becoming a soldier is the only way to get assigned one."

"Stephanie had a hummingbird," Robbie supplied, sucking the remaining honey off his fingers. "Is she a soldier already?"

Sportacus' face darkened and Robbie feared that he had said something very not good but then the elf started speaking in a laden voice.

"That hummingbird used to be her mother's. Stephanie came to live with her uncle here after her mother died." Sportacus leant on the railing of the balcony right next to where Robbie was sitting on the bench, the elf's hip almost brushing his shoulder. "Her parents were both soldiers, and after Stephanie's father had died a hero in a battle against another Court, her mother became reckless with grief and died needlessly during a routine patrol."

Sportacus shook his head ssdly, lost in memories.

"She hadn't been here long when I came here to learn the ways of my uncle's Court and become his heir. Just imagine seeing this sad, pudgy little child, younger even than Ziggy is now." A giggle escaped Sportacus' lips and Robbie snorted a little too because imagining the athletic little girl as anything but that seemed ridiculous. "It took me some time and not a little amount of coaxing, but now she wants to become a diplomat. Or a dancer. Or a physician for animals. It depends on her mood for the day, but everything is better than having to see her sad face."

Robbie nodded, considering the new information.

"A lot of people have to lose something that is dear to them because of fighting and war," he finally said with a sigh. "You know, if everyone was just lazy, there would be nobody to fight."

"Good luck with that," Sportacus laughed. "They just love their fighting too much, and we still have to find a way to stop this next war from happening."

"About that," Robbie said, playing nervously with his fingers and feeling his jaw clench and unclench involuntarily. "Is there a way for me to release you from that Deal you landed us in? I mean, it was hardly fair, you'd just gotten a mighty blow on your head and you were confronted with my sad, handsome face, so I understand you got weak and all."

Sportacus had the audacity to giggle at that. Again! The stakes were much too high for all his giggling, but it was a nice sound nevertheless.

"A Deal is only lifted once its requirements are fulfilled, you know that as well as I do." Sportacus' expression was solemn now. "And I would swear that Deal again _right now_. In fact, I'm going to show you. I promise that-"

It took quite a bit of effort to launch himself up from the bench and onto Sportacus, clapping a long hand over that overeager mouth of his.

"Be quiet, you ridiculous elf!" Robbie commanded with a voice that sounded a little higher than usual. "Don't make this harder than it already is, who knows what kind of havoc stacked Deals will wreak!"

Only when the elf nodded did Robbie let go, still suspicious.

"I really meant it," Sportacus repeated.

Robbie merely groaned.

 

~~~

 

It was the early afternoon when they made their way towards a council room where they were to meet with King Ithro again. Sportacus had shown Robbie around the upper levels of the tree, mindful of keeping the fairy away from his kinsmen.

Interestingly enough, it was mostly the soldiers who paid them little heed, merely acknowledging Sportacus with a salute and, more often than not, a nod towards Robbie. There must have probably been some kind of briefing.

"They respect you," Robbie mused during their walk. "And not just because you're the prince, they really respect _you_."

"Well, I would hope so. I have invested great time and effort in getting to know my soldiers and making sure that they get to know me as a capable commander in turn." The elf seemed almost bashful now. "I don't like fighting much, but I know of its necessity. Though this is a war I would like to avoid at all costs."

"What did the trolls steal anyway, and how did they get it when it's so damn important in the first place?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you what it is, but it was lost because… because my uncle was careless. He let his guard down on one of his solitary travels and the trolls took their chance. He was lucky he got away, just as I was." Sportacus grinned proudly at Robbie. "You may catch an elf, but keeping him is another matter altogether!"

"Pff," Robbie snorted. "The way I remember it, you wouldn't be here today if it weren't for a particularly dashing young fellow who selflessly saved your life."

"That helped, too, of course," Sportacus admitted, laughing. "And I'm glad it was you who found me, I haven't laughed like this in a long time. The times may be dire, but you remind me of why I'm fighting this fight."

Robbie's eyes grew wide and he squeaked out a startled "I do?" but by then, they had arrived at their destination and Sportacus swung open a broad set of doors that led them into the room where they had eaten with the king yesterday, only this time the table was decked with maps and little figurines and dozens of important-looking elves studying and contemplating them.

Upon their arrival, all eyes swiveled into their direction and Robbie shrunk back, wishing to be anywhere but here, with unimaginable amounts of eyes boring holes into his very existence.

He didn't really catch what was said among the elves, too busy with making himself as small as possible as he was, until a collection of gasps roused him from anxious stupor.

"Robbie, how did you do that!" Sportacus sounded awed and Robbie was confused because he didn't do anything?

Slowly it dawned on him that his wings were cocooned around him again and that he saw the world through a shimmer of brown and beige. He must have involuntarily blended into the wall behind them, carved out of the mighty tree.

Guiltily, he let the glamour fall.

"Ah, sorry, I'm… not good with crowds?"

Upon closer inspection, there were only half a dozen elves other than the king and Sportacus in the room, and wow, he really did overestimate enemy numbers when stressed, didn't he?

"We could use this to our advantage, uncle," Sportacus suddenly called out, almost jumping with excitement- no, actually jumping with excitement, now. "Robbie and I could sneak into the trolls' lair, snatch the crystal back without them knowing we were ever there and be back here before they know what hit them!"

"Don't be foolish, nephew," the king sighed. "I know you want to avoid bloodshed, but I already almost lost you once, today. You can't be made to suffer for my mistake. It was careless enough of me to allow you to try taking it back the first time, and look what happened."

Here, Ithro's hand ghosted over the prominent scar only half-hidden behind Sportacus' golden curls.

"We will war with the trolls, and we will slay as many as we need to drive them back into the hills whence they came. After they are vanquished, we will rebuild the meadow and the fairie's home, and you will be free of that Deal. That is what the council has decided upon."

"But uncle, so many will die on both sides! If you just let me try again, maybe I can-"

"Sportacus, no. I won't allow it."

Sensing the delicate atmosphere, the councilmen left the room and Robbie had half a mind to follow them but then decided against it. They had looked at him with badly-concealed scorn, probably because they thought it was his fault that their precious prince was locked in a Deal with a fairy.

If only they knew that their prince had a death wish and had almost doubled the Deal, their anger might have been directed more appropriately where it was due.

Said target of scorn was arguing animatedly with his uncle now, his wish for a suicide mission not yet abandoned.

"But consider, uncle, together, me and Robbie could get it back, I swear. Let me prove it to you!"

The king cast a long look at Robbie, inquisitive and thoughtful, before shaking his head.

"My answer stands, Sportacus. As much as you trust your new friend, fairies are nervous, flighty little things. They will change their mind in an instant when it suits them and nothing good can ever come of trusting one."

Robbie was offended.

"Now look here, you, you king, you! You may be right in that I'm nervous or that fairies are known to change their minds from time to time, but I would never break a promise." He crossed his arms, not caring about titles or proper decorum and staring the king down. "No fairy breaks a promise, Deal or no."

The king made an ugly snort at that, half-turning his body away.

"Stranger things have happened," he said with a joyless chuckle. "But let me not get lost in memories long past. You will stay here, Sportacus. We will plan our attack and lead the assault together, and before you know it, everything will be okay again."

The phrasing wasn't lost on Robbie and Sportacus and they exchanged guilty looks like naughty schoolboys caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"In any case, I don't break promises. In fact, I think I'm going to do something stupid _right now_." Robbie held his finger in the air, standing straight. "Sportacus, I promise I'm going to help you fulfill your own Deal in exchange for your hospitality."

He was extraordinarily happy about the dumbfounded look on the king's face, and ah, yes, there was the familiar pull behind his navel and the sharp sensation of the world missing a beat for everyone but him and Sportacus. Speaking of which, the elfling looked just as surprised at his uncle, but the way his eyes wrinkled in the corners was fond and spoke of gladness.

"Come on, Sportacus, let's go. We'll get that stupid crystal thing and get everything back to normal."

Sportacus looked towards his uncle for a moment, them nodded.

"We'll get the crystal back, uncle. We'll take two birds, provisions and equipment, and before you know it, we'll be back!" Sportacus was all excitement now, bouncing on his heels and counting what they needed on his fingers. "We'll be sneaky and hidden and once we've succeeded, there will be no need for war."

"I said No, Sportacus. Once, I allowed this foolish mission, and I didn't sleep one night while you were away. When your bird returned without you… _no_." The king's eyes were set, their radiant blue heavy and clouded like a midnight storm. "You stay here, with me. And the fairy, too."

"I have a name, you know," Robbie mumbled, making for the exit.

After a moment, Sportacus followed Robbie, not looking back at his uncle. Robbie did look back, though, and saw the king gazing out of a window, eyes suspiciously wet and shimmering.

"If that's what you command, uncle, so be it," Sportacus said when they had reached the doors.

There was no answer, so the elfling left with trembling shoulders.

"Fairy," the king called as Robbie still looked after Sportacus' retreating form, unsure whether to follow him or not. "No, sorry… Robbie. Please, may I have a word?"

Reluctantly, Robbie returned into the hall, staying close to the door and crossing his arms. It was more a gesture of hugging himself than defiance and the king's face softened.

"I have to apologize again, Robbie. I didn't mean to be rude to you or your kind, but… I haven't got the greatest track record with fairies. I won't bore you with details, but I decided that you deserve a chance free of prejudice and old grudges."

"Yeah, that's, uh, not what I expected from this conversation, but thanks?"

"I need to ask you a favour, Robbie."

"Oh?"

"Please keep my nephew safe, he is the only family I have left and I love him dearly." The king looked almost pained now, the crown of elaborate twigs and bark and berries so heavy he took it off his head to place it on a table.

"You think he's gonna do something stupid," Robbie said slowly. "… again."

Ithro laughed, but this time it was a real laugh, full of fond memories and affection.

"Of course he is, he is his mother's son. And his mother?" He smiled sadly now, brows drawn. "She was my twin, I knew her better than anyone. He takes after us, and no shackle or rule I place upon him will keep him in place. And all this because I was negligent enough to have my family's heirloom stolen from me. I couldn't bear to see him harmed, or worse. Promise me you keep an eye on him, and I will forever be in your debt, fairy."

"I already did," Robbie reminded the king, slightly uncomfortable with the feelings and the trust radiating off the regal elf. "I'm not sure what I can do to help him, but I will do my very best. And before you know it, we'll be back."

And because he hadn't been hugged enough in the last couple of days, the king himself suddenly had his arms wrapped around Robbie's shoulders, instinctively mindful of his wings as if he knew exactly where they sprouted. The king's words from atop the tree came back to him. He had mentioned Glanni, and he had a history with fairies… The need for answers burned inside his mind, but he knew this was not the place, nor the time.

Instead, he gently patted the kings back until he was released.

"I promise I'm gonna bring him back, alive and in one piece," Robbie said, this time not imbuing the words with the fluttering magic of his people.

This time, it was a simple promise between two men.

 

~~~ 

 

He didn't have to look long for Sportacus. One of the children found him wandering around the tree and took him by the hand. It was the dark-skinned one with the calming voice. Puddle, was it?

"Sportacus told me to look for you," he explained, holding up a little twig proudly. "This is my divining rod, er, twig. I magicked it to trace certain kinds of magic. I couldn't test it before because everyone uses elf magic here and the place is full of it, but yours is different. And you know what? It worked!"

It was hard not to share in the excitement, especially because a spell like this was pretty advanced. In fact, he found himself talking shop about inventing and magic with the boy until they ducked into a low opening in the tree that could hardly be called a door.

Inside, the other kids were waiting, each with a couple of small bags of something or other at their feet. Their faces were grim and serious and Robbie thought for a brief moment that the world was in for something once these brats came of age and joined the military.

Sportacus was the last to arrive, decked out in his armour once again with his unruly hair hidden under a walnut shell helm this time.

"Good," he said earnestly when he saw their little gathering. "Thank you all for your help. Did you get everything I asked you?"

The children nodded and Sportacus started filling up a backpack he had brought, sliding a shoulder bag over to Robbie.

"Here, Stephanie reminded me that a backpack wouldn't quite be your thing, with the wings and all."

Robbie nodded, slowly beginning to fill the bag with provisions and other equipment like ropes and hunting knives.

"So we're really going to infiltrate the troll stronghold?" Robbie asked, voice heavy. "Do you really think we can do it?"

"We have to," Sportacus said forcefully. "I won't have anyone die in a needless war."

The children were restless, wringing their hands.

"But what if something happens to you, Sportacus?" The small blonde boy was close to tears. "We thought you were gone, last time."

"I'm not alone, this time," Sportacus reminded him. "Robbie saved my life once already, and he can use powerful magic."

Robbie blushed when the children all looked toward him.

"Well, there's one or two tricks I have up my sleeve," he admitted with a wink.

This seemed to satisfy the children.

"Will we both ride your bird again to get there, Sportacus?"

The elf shook his head, expression a little guilty.

"You, uh, have to ride your own bird. Stephanie agreed to borrow Vængur to you."

"Oh…"

 

~~~

 

Much too soon, it had grown dark outside. Their preparations were complete and Robbie guessed that they were as ready as they were ever gonna get.

The children were all in position for commando: red herring and he and Sportacus lay in waiting outside the stables.

A high-pitched scream broke through the darkness and the guards positioned at the stable entrances were alert in a second, drooping spears upright in an instant.

"Heeelp, I'm slipping!" Trixie's voice called from further up in the tree and the soldiers wasted no time in running towards the source of the noise.

They would find Trixie holding onto the railing of a wooden path, not in any real danger because Stingy and Pixel were holding her up with ropes a level higher in the tree.

The moment the guards were out of sight, the door opened and Stephanie waved them in.

"They believed me when I said that Vængur had gotten hurt while flying back in the forest," she whispered. "I was allowed to stay here and care for her and I managed to get both birds ready for take-off."

She saluted to them and Sportacus gave her a big hug.

"Thank you, Stephanie. I swear we'll get both birds back safely. We'll only fly as far as we dare, and then send the birds back."

Stephanie nodded and then hugged Robbie.

"Look out for each other, we'll be waiting here for you guys."

They both nodded grimly, mounting the birds. Stephanie had been kind enough to equip her bird with a saddle and Robbie was glad for the footing the stirrups provided. Still, he wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't fall out of the saddle upon take-off…

In the end, flying solo wasnt as bad as he had feared. Just as promised, Sportacus took the lead with Goggi and Vængur followed, so all Robbie had to do was hold tight. And hold tight he did, knuckles white where they grabbed the reins in a death grip.

When the tree was only a small source of light in the distance, shining through between the trees, they could hear faint alarm calls and the ringing of bells, but they were long out of reach by then.

Looking to his left, Robbie saw Sportacus'-determined face reflecting the moonlight where it was able to pierce through the thick foliage. His blue eyes seemed as alive as he'd ever seen them and the elf looked the very picture of pure-hearted conviction and good intentions.

When their eyes met, Sportacus gave him a brilliant grin and Robbie felt himself smiling back just as giddy.

This was exhilarating, adventurous and so very much not what he was used to that he might as well have been living someone else's life now.

Looking back to where they zig-zagged their way through the forest, Robbie swore again to himself that he would see this through to the end and keep the elf safe.

Everything was gonna be okay, for both of them, he would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, Goggi is called Goggi because the icelandic word for beak is gogginn, not because of Pixel's original name :D  
> And Vængur means wing because obviously I'm very creative when it comes to names :')
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this because the action is gonna pick up next chapter and the boys won't know what hit them!


End file.
